PERSON COUNTY

Person was formed in 1791 from Caswell. The act was to become effective February 1, 1792. It was named in honor of General Thomas Person, a Revolutionary Patriot, a member of the Council of Safety and a trustee of the University of North Carolina. He gave a large sum of money to the University, and a building was erected in his honor, which is called Person Hall. It is in the north central section of the State and is bounded by Granville, Durham, Orange and Caswell counties, and the State of Virginia. The present area is 392.31 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 39,464. Of that population, 26,968 were white, 10,646 were black or African American, 266 were American Indian, 116 were Asian, 4 were Pacific Islander and 868 were of a different race. Another 596 were reported to be of two or more races and 1,593 were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 1792 Pittman's was mentioned in an act as the place where the courthouse was to be established. In 1793 Roxboro was established as the courthouse and is now the county seat.

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Areas of Person County are in one of three river basins: the Roanoke River Basin, the Neuse River Basin and the Tar-Pamlico River Basin. It is a part of the Piedmont region of the state.

References:

"American Factfinder." 2011. U. S. Census Bureau. Online at http://factfinder2.census.gov/. Accessed 3/3/2011.

Corbitt, David L. 2000. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943. Sixth printing. Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History.

Powell, William Stevens, and Michael R. Hill. 2010. The North Carolina gazetteer: a dictionary of Tar Heel places and their history. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Additional resources:

North Carolina Digital Collections (Government & Heritage Library and NC State Archives)

NC LIVE resources

NC Natural Heritage Program database

WorldCat (Searches numerous library catalogs)